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According to multiple – like, dozens – reports this evening, the Chicago Cubs will tomorrow introduce former San Diego Padres bench coach Rick Renteria as the newest manager of the team.

Renteria, 51, succeeds Dale Sveum, who was named manager just two years ago. He’ll inherit a young, developing team, and an extremely solid farm system that should start bearing fruit shortly. The focus in this search was player development, a particular strong suit for Renteria. I am very excited to see how his era begins.

The official announcement and press conference are expected tomorrow, at which time there should be a great deal more to discuss.

You either thought this was very clever, or you’ve been under a rock for a month. Either way, I find it annoying.

Brian Peters

Bravo again, Brett!!

MichiganGoat

I love saucy Ace.

CGruegs45

Damn, Brett! #MakeItNasty #PutThatMuthaFuckaInHisPlace

YourResidentJag

Oh. Shut up as well.

Iowacubs

Agree Jag!

Brian Myers

Other than “hands on” “a good communicator” “can teach” “is bilingual” have you heard anything about his managerial style? Some guys believe in speed (Whitey Herzog) or power (Earl Weaver) or have your pitcher’s arm fall off (Dusty Baker). Any insight on Rick?

mjhurdle

“or have your pitcher’s arm fall off (Dusty Baker).”

LOL, well played sir.

socalicubsfan

Oh Brett, lighten up. You do a great job with the blog and keeping us all up to date on the latest. It was a joke, man. Lame, but a joke.

rudymeolismullet

Does anyone really care? Where is the pitching?

TWC

No. No one cares. There have been thousands of comments by visitors to this site in the month since Sveum was fired about the manager search, but no one cares. You douche.

CGruegs45

#Douche

http://deepcenterfield.blogspot.com Jason Powers

Yeah! Now to the FA market.

Obsessively watching for contracts. 😉

Good posts as always.

koyiehillsucks2

Should be exciting to see if they sign someone recovering from his 2nd tommy john surgery, shoulder surgery or acl tear.

The Dude

Underwhelmed by the hire on name value alone, but good luck, Rick! Now time to upgrade the rotation, bullpen, and outfield.

The Dude

However, it’s nice to see they didn’t chase Luvollo because I couldn’t handle that entire conversation dominating the comments… this is gonna be a positive offseason!

And please, let’s stop with this “he can relate to the Latino players because he can speak Spanish” talk. not only is it condescending, but it is as ridiculous as saying “Sveum will be a good manager because he can relate to the English speaking players because he knows American English.” Also, Rentaria comes from a Mexican background, which doesn’t exactly mean that all other Latino countrymen are his brothers. The attitude of many persons from Spanish speaking countries other than Mexico can be summed up by the statement of one of my Cuban staff persons: “hablo espanol; tu hablas mexicano!” “I speak Spanish; you speak Mexican! (sneer)

http://www.bleachernation.com Brett

You make a good point, but it’s equally important to note that being truly bilingual is a huge assist in conveying organizational/coaching message to players who speak only Spanish, or maybe just a touch of English.

Diamondrock

As I simultaneous said in another comment, I still think it’s important. There certainly are a lot of varieties in any language, but I expect with his experience working with young players in the Padres system from all over that Renteria knows how to communicate. Certainly better than Sveum, at any rate.

ssckelley

That is a bunch of BS! You do not hire a manager because he is bilingual. If the manager you hire happens to be bilingual then it should be a oh btw. I want a manager that knows when to hit and run, knows when to pull a pitcher, can assemble a competent coaching staff. I could give a rats ass if he has to use a translator to speak to a foreign player. Most of these players should have been in the US long enough to know the language.

roz

And what if the fact that he can speak directly to foreign players that we bring up helps in the development of those players? Still just an afterthought then?

ssckelley

For manager, yes, any other coaching position maybe. Again we are talking about professional ball players that should have learned English by the time they reach the majors.

Hell if the guy needs to be bilingual then why didn’t they interview a Japanese manager?

cubes

DER TREKING ERR JERBS!!!

mjhurdle

‘MERICA!!!!

roz

“we are talking about professional ball players that should have learned English by the time they reach the majors.’

Do you honestly believe this? Because that’s a load of crap.

ssckelley

What is a load of crap is being bilingual is important to be a manager of a MLB team.

mjhurdle

being bi-lingual is an advantage in a great many professional management jobs, not just the MLB.
How that is escaping you is beyond me.

ssckelley

Farrell, Bochy, LaRussa, Manuel, Francona, and Girardi are all managers who have won the last 8 World Series. 2005 was the last time a bilingual manager won a World Series (Ozzie). Perhaps they did not have many foreign players right?

mjhurdle

Umm, Tony LaRussa speaks fluent Spanish.

Great research there…

mjhurdle

“If you seriously aspire to be a manager in the big leagues, there is a baseball ‘book’ that one must learn. Alongside that book, you must practice Spanish,” former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said during a recent interview with ESPNdeportes.com. “Of 25 players on each roster, sometimes there are between eight and 15 players who speak Spanish. If you can’t talk on a personal level with them, you take the risk of losing one thing you could fix if you speak his language.”

mjhurdle

Other successful managers who are fluent in Spanish…

Mike Scoscia,
Fredi Gonzalez,
Mike Matheny,
and ….Joe Maddon.

ssckelley

Damn, you are working hard for this. I did mean foreign bilingual, no I did not take the time to see if any of those managers could speak it.

But you have me convinced, guess Ozzie should have been interviewed. I am shocked he did not make it in Miami.

I am going to learn Japanese so I will be ready for when the majors start hiring bilingual managers that can speak it. Perhaps Spanish as well, I bet they would pay me more if I knew both.

mjhurdle

You should learn from charlie manual. He speaks fluent Japanese and said it was helpful in his managing career.

Scotti

“I am going to learn Japanese so I will be ready for when the majors start hiring bilingual managers that can speak it.”

Charlie Manuel IS bilingual–he is fluent in Japanese. He starred in Japan for 5-6 seasons. He, coincidentally, managed So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi during the Phillies World Championship season in 2008. Neither played well but he is bilingual and he has managed Japanese players.

roz

It’s a load of crap that we should expect all the Latin-American players to speak perfect English by the time they reach the majors.

ssckelley

I never said that, and if a team needs a translator then you hire one or make sure one of the coaches is bilingual. It should not be a requirement for the manager.

mjhurdle

“I don’t think it’s something I thought would help in the game,” says La Russa, whose father is Italian and mother is Spanish. “But it was important to establish a relationship with the Latino baseball player. I always thought that when you spoke to them [in Spanish], they felt they would not get confused, that they wouldn’t understand something different. And I always thought they felt more at home.”

MichiganGoat

Kelly you must really hate the students I work with everyday, 60% of my students are “developing” English language skills and have been for years. So do they have no business getting an education because many of them have been living in America for over ten years. Guess they should just be able to learn and fully communicate immediately not to mention the 14 year olds I teach that have just arrived. Maybe you think they should have to pass a test to pass the border. How ignorant. Let’s drop you into a foreign country and not let you work until you are completely bilingual.

ssckelley

Not at all, that is completely different.

MichiganGoat

So a player that has never lived in America SHOULD speak English before they can play? You are looking like a complete “moran” here buddy. Are you really against bilingual signage or funding?

ssckelley

Goat, I never insinuated any of that. Usually foreign ball players that have come up through the minors have picked up quite a bit of English by the time they have reached the majors. Now the Cuban players that do not spend much time in the minors probably do need more help, especially those that come over from Japan. It does not hurt if any manager can speak multiple languages it is gravy. I am more interested in his development abilities, game managing abilities, the staff he assembles, ect ect.

Go back to trolling Blackhawk and die hard. 😀

mjhurdle

Not to beat a dead horse buuuuuttttt….:)

“No matter how much English a Latino player speaks, Spanish will always be his first language,” Soto says. “To have managers, coaches and even trainers who speak Spanish is a big help, no matter how great the player’s spoken English is. An injury, a personal problem, a concern, that type of situation, it’s best to explain it in your language. A manager has a lot of influence on a player. And if he speaks your language, that influence goes much further.”
– Mario Soto, former player and executive for the Reds, and President of the Dom Repub Players Association.

So being bi-lingual may actually make someone better at things like player development, team management, and game situation adjustments….

Hansman

Did the cubs hire him because he is bilingual? Are the comments above saying that?

No, everyone is saying that his bilingual abilities are a huge plus. The most important job a manager has is managing his ball players. That’s a helluva lot easier if you can speak their language. Some players may not have the aptitude to pick up English or can’t speak it well. It’s a fact of life and unless your ancestors were English, I’m sure they faced many barriers and probably never learned English.

Chill out, some folks are just discussing a positive for our new manager.

toby

The advantage of being bi-lingual is that it takes the slight chance of something getting lost in translation.

Andrew

I don’t think the message was ever that he can “relate” to them because he’s Latino, but rather communication is easier between two people when they are fluent in the same language. Bilinguality never seemed like a prerequisite for the job but rather a positive attribute.

YourResidentJag

And that pretty much says it all.

cubmig

TSB you have a point. I’ll give that—namely that not all spanish-speaking feel country/culture/dialect conneected. BUT……I can tell you this: When in a situation like the one spanish-speaking players find themselves in (baseball culture) the connecting link is Spanish I am sure that when the banter between them goes on in the dugout or the clubhouse, those guys don’t think about place of origin. They’re just happy they can talk and communicate without tripping over struggling with English words. That’s the way it’s going to be (imho) with Renteria. The access and the directness of communication won’t be a barrier to cite anymore. So……..while what you point out has merit, your Cuban staff person’s comment is coming from another kind of mindset —–which has more to do with an ethnic neighborhood enclave mentality. I’ll end with this: Renteria brings a plus. It remains to be seen if he will prove if the difference he adds will translate into managerial effectiveness among the latino players.

Soda Popinski

This is exactly right, cubmig. I’ve been studying Spanish for the last 6 years. I’ve got a BA in Spanish, lived in Peru and Mexico, and have traveled all over South America. Really, all Spanish speakers- no matter where they’re from- can speak to one another without a hitch. To give a good comparison, from one Spanish-speaking country to another, it’s like American English, Canadian English, British English, Australian English, etc. etc. The differences are with slang, accents, and a few different verb forms. To suggest that a Cuban can’t speak with a Mexican because he speaks “Mexican” is absurd.

TSB

The comment by my Cuban staff person was meant as a put-down of Mexicans, not as a comment on understandability. Many in the Latino world look down on the Mexicans.

Soda Popinski

Good people get along with good people. It’s like this all over the world. It really boils down to your definition of many. If by “many” you mean “a few thick headed Latinos,” then you’re probably right. However, if by “many” you mean “a majority… or even a significant number,” this just isn’t true. I can hardly imagine culture being a problem with Latino’s from different countries in a clubhouse.

Can’t think of a cool name

To TSB

First, pull on shoulders to remove head from rear. Second provide any source that states many in the Latino world look down on Mexicans. Here’s a hint: your Cuban friend is not a source.

DarthHater

“First, pull on shoulders to remove head from rear.”

That doesn’t work. You need to have somebody else pull on your shoulders. 😛

TSB

Cant think of etc:.Too bad you have a head in your rear end; and it’s not the one on a guy’s neck.

In high school, a dean told me he could relate to Latinos because he spent time in Mexico. I laughed in his face.

CubsFaninMS

If you were from New York City and I were from Louisiana (which I am), we would certainly be able to identify with each other a little better if we were playing in Venezuela and would welcome a coach from Saskatchewan. If we were to meet in Chicago, though, we’d notice our dialects of English are clearly different and we most likely live totally different lifestyles. It’s not condescending and, IMO, it’s a touch “hyper sensitive” to throw this concern out there. Americans are decidedly ethnocentric but so are other cultures. The fact that American fans acknowledge that there is a need for a bilingual coach shows a basic understanding of the needs of the Cubs organization. You’re comment is basically saying “Oh, but that’s not enough, you simpleton.” Just my thoughts.

MichiganGoat

Oh and poor die hard, his 100 predictions all failed. At least he Kevin Bacon’d Renteria to Bud Black. I’m sure he’ll take credit for this hire.

Diamondrock

The more I’ve learned about Renteria the more I’ve come to believe he’s a good choice. I don’t think we can underestimate the importance of his experience with Latin America (and his ability to speak Spanish). I’ve worked in a country in a language that’s not my first, and no matter how good you get it can be really frustrating. The ability to talk to guys like Baez, Castro, and Soler in their own language (and culture) is a big deal.

Benjamin

Baez was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in the US. Castro is Dominican, Soler is Cuban, and Renteria is Mexican American so “culture” isn’t really a factor here. That said, his being fluent in Spanish is definitely an asset.

DocPeterWimsey

Just as long as Renteria doesn’t bat speedy Low OBP guys at the top of the order because “they make things happen,” or sit good hitters for not being “well-rounded baseball players,” or bunt with middle-of-the-order guys, I probably won’t have any issues with him. I’ll probably dread it every time he goes out to bring in a reliever, but that’s just because all Cubs’ relievers fill me with dread.

http://www.bleachernation.com Brett

I wish he’d given a FanGraphs interview that made me swoon so I wouldn’t be a little worried about these things …

D-Rock

Exactly. Holding my breath on this hire…Luvollo was my 1st choice.

Joey

Happy with the hire and am looking forward to what Rick does but I agree with the TSB’s post.

I’d take Renteria over a retread like Wedge, Acta, or Hinch, any-day.

http://www.justinjabs.com/blog/ justinjabs

Gordo says three year deal with two more options at the end of it.

EB

If there are indeed two options, that tells me that the front office currently doesn’t think he is the guy to take them all the way, and he will have to prove that he is. If he does prove it, they’ll execute the options.

Pat

Or it could just mean that Ricketts wants the manager and front office contracts expiring at the same time. While I doubt he expects to be bringing someone else in three years from now, it makes sense to time them together. Plus, how many guaranteed years are you going to give a first time manager?

Hansman

What? A three year deal is pretty standard. Not to many bench coaches get 5-year contracts to manage.

Part of the Core

Welcome to Chicago, Rick. You’ll love it here.

Benjamin Roethig

He has one job: develop the young players (most of who are from latin America) that might make this a contending club my 2017. Essentially Renteria is like a Quadruple-A manager. He might not be the guy we need to win a series, but he’s the guy we need to get the players ready for that. If he doesn’t do that, he’ll probably take Theo and Hoyer with him when he leaves.

Patrick G

I think 2017 is a little far fetched no? I think they will be somewhat relevant by 2015 and if not by 2017, he may not be here for that time

cubs82

Great hire.

Patrick G

Now on the the GM and winter meetings! Enjoy the fact that even the offseason can be as entertaining, maybe even more entertainin recently, than actually watching the Cubs. Can’t wait

Cheryl

Thank goodness it’s done.Hope he does well.

YourResidentJag

Solid hire.

ssckelley

I am not a fan of this hire at all. It makes me sick when one of the important reasons for this hire is because he is bilingual. That should not even come close to being one of the criteria to be a manager of a baseball team.

But what the hell do I know, the only manager hire I would have gotten excited about would have been Girardi. I am glad it is finally over.

roz

“That should not even come close to being one of the criteria to be a manager of a baseball team.”

And why is that? The Cubs (and everyone in baseball) have extensive Latin-American based operations and a large number of spanish speaking prospects. How is being able to directly connect to important prospects not a great quality in a manager?

ssckelley

We are talking about professional baseball players here not a team playing in the Dominican.

roz

What’s you’re point? There are Spanish speaking players everywhere in the system, I fail to see how the man that’s going to be responsible for helping their continued development being able to directly speak with them is a bad thing, or even an afterthought.

ssckelley

I would rather see these players get developed in the minor leagues but we are not discussing a manager for the minors here.

roz

Development clearly doesn’t end once players get to the majors.

ssckelley

So tell me more about Renteria’s developing abilities.

roz

Wait, so are now arguing that Renteria doesn’t have development abilities? He managed in the minors for eight years which is fairly significant. More than that I can’t really speak competently about, but I imagine Theo and Jed are satisfied with his development abilities if they decided to hire him.

ssckelley

No, what I am saying is I care more about his developing abilities than I do about what languages he speaks.

TWC

Why are you assuming the Cubs think any differently?

ssckelley

I sure hope not. The FO should have their head examined if a big reason why they hired this guy was because he is bilingual.

wasssup

Stop.

JB88

You don’t know that.

since52

Yes, yes, si si…buena suerte Rick…Ricardo? Who’s for a bilingual press conference at the official announcement? Perhaps we’ll get to hear about ” player development, getting back to fundamentals, taking the extra base” and other multi cultural coach speak.

I for one will not miss the spring training bunting contest.

Kramden

…. And which Cub manager since the College of Coaches hasn’t uttered those very things at their intro press conference?

I’d be willing to bet that each of us on this blog will be able to mouth almost word for word what Renteria’s going to be saying.

Cubs great organization – check!
Epstein laying the groundwork for a young, exciting, talented team – check!
Looking forward to helping these prospects become major leaguers – check!
Look forward to working with Chris Bosio – Check!
Uses advanced metrics but sometimes have to go with gut instinct – Check!
Envisions the Cubs as an aggressive team that takes the extra base and is sound both defensively and fundamentally – Check!
Has worked well w/Rizzo in SD and looks forward to helping him get to the next level – Check!
Starlin Castro needs to go back to doing the things that made him an All-Star – Check!
Loves the level of talent on the pitching staff – Check!
Feels there’s no reason why the Cubs can’t compete for the post season next year -Check!
Will be asked a question and respond by saying he’ll look into that -Check!

What’d I miss?

Patrick W.

You missed the part where he actually says each of those things so you can check them off.

DarthHater

F*ck those f*ckin’ fans who come out here and say they’re Cub fans that are supposed to be behind you, rippin’ every f*ckin’ thing you do. – Check!

The motherf*ckers don’t even work. That’s why they’re out at the f*ckin’ game. They oughta go out and get a f*ckin’ job and find out what it’s like to go out and earn a f*ckin’ living. Eighty-five percent of the f*ckin’ world is working. The other fifteen percent come out here. A f*ckin’ playground for the cocks*ckers. – Check!

Wow, I never knew the leader of the Imperial Forces used so much foul language. Funny, I don’t recall this in any of the Star Wars movies. The things you learn on Brett’s website.

Kramden

So glad to see Epstein maintain his (and the Cubs) dignity by not groveling to the Red Sox and basically telling them to go fuck themselves. Now they’re the ones who have to deal with Lovullo and an employee who may not be all that happy right now. Becoming a major league manager is one of the most exclusive jobs in the world since there are relatively so few and openings are even fewer. The Red Sox effectively used Lovullo as a pawn at his expense.

Renteria’s got a dream job since there was no hype attached to his name, he doesn’t have a tough act to follow and hence there are no expectations for him to succeed.

Good Luck Pal…. Let’s hope lightning strikes.

forlines

I certainly agree with the first paragraph. Glad the Red Sox beat the Cardinals, but they can go screw themselves. Hope Lovullo scoots ASAP.

The 2nd part is a little iffy. While he doesn’t have the ‘hype’ attached to his name, i’m sure there are still lofty expectations placed on him. In fact, I have no doubt. Dale Sveum didn’t have the name recognition, but the expectations were surely still there. They will be there, no matter who Manages the Cubs until the ‘curse’ is broken.

Joey

Bruce Levine ‏@MLBBruceLevine
Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio also will return with a two year deal in hand .

The Dude Abides

So again, what’s his style sounds like most folks are on board with the hire so I imagine someone has a sense of what he’s like and what we should expect?

Spoda17

I know I am gunna get some flack… and I don’t necessary disagree with the hire, but too much is being made out of speaking “Spanish”… Spanish dialect is different all over the world… and what about the Koreans, the Japanese, the other nationalities we also have… Communication comes in many ways… leadership comes in many fashions… just because you are in charge, doesn’t mean you can lead…. just because you speak a language doesn’t mean you can communicate. Not that he can’t, he may be a great communicator and leader. But just because you are given a fishing pole, doesn’t mean you can fish.

ssckelley

Exactly! I would love to hear about Renteria’s baseball managing abilities, the languages he speaks is an after thought.

Hansman

I think the reason some folks are discussing it a lot is because that is all they really know about the guy and it’s easier to blab about than his actually history in baseball.

Jim L

Well maybe we can wait until Theo and Jed answer those questions instead of flying off the handle at what the media is speculating at this time before the press conference and the official word.

Kramden

No flack from me on that one….

If the focus was on hiring a Latin manager who can relate to Latin players, it would’ve been so much easier to identify the best manager in the Mexican League and interview/hire that guy….

Who would’ve been just as familiar to the rest of us as Renteria is.

mjhurdle

well, Renteria DID coach the Mexican World baseball Classic team…

Amie

I’m sure you didn’t pick this up, but getting a spanish speaking manager is one thing that Miguel Cabrera mentioned as being helpful for the Tigers for their new manager. You may think that isn’t important, but for those of us who are English speaking we may not understand how someone who spanish as their first language would. The Tigers clearly ignored his suggestion, which tells me they didn’t understand either. Communication is key, no matter what your job is, and while it’s easy to say it’s the other guy’s responsibility to learn our language, that’s isn’t as easy as you think, and it’s really everyone’s responsibility if you want players to feel included.

Joey

Gammons reports that the Cubs never officially ask for permission to interview Lovullo and adds this nugget:

Cherington approached Lovullo, who indicated that he wasn’t certain what he wanted at this point in time; he also did not know the Cubs’ intentions. Cherington and Lovullo worked out a three year deal at a sizable raise, and that was that

Spoda17

Hopefully Theo and Jed looked for communication and leadership skills were the most important and bilingual was a bonus.

MikeW

Who’s he developed?

The Dude

Fair question

Cub Fan Dan

Im not a Rick Renteria expert, but the Padres have done pretty good developing Everth Cabrera, Will Venable, & Jedd Gyorko off the top of my head.

Jason

I wonder who Rick will have on his coaching staff?

ssckelley

Well they got a coach who can speak English in Bosio. So Renteria needs to find someone who can speak Japanese, Chinese, perhaps an Italian so Rizzo can feel comfortable.

roz

Now you’re just being dumb.

TWC

You gonna troll on all season long about this Spanish thing, Kelley?

ssckelley

Probably, this bilingual thing has me fired up.

TWC

Dude, until Theo or Jed are on record as saying “Our #1 priority was finding a Spanish-speaking manager,” you might be better off letting it go.

In a list of Renteria’s attributes, his ability to speak Spanish is unquestionably a net positive, right? I mean, he didn’t meet with the FO for a day’s worth of Spanish tests.

Jimmy james

Agreed, from everything we were hearing he was the leader all along…..they kicked the tires on a couple other candidates, picked their brains…..the bilingual part would probably only be a tiebreaker when candidates were viewed as equal. I’m interested to see who will be on his staff.

JB88

This. Nails my thought on people droning on about the bilingual thing.

ssckelley

I will let it go once people stop acting like this is a main reason why they hired him.

TWC

No one is. That’s all in your head.

mjhurdle

no one but you is acting like this was the main reason they hired him.
It is important, but obviously it isn’t the main thing. Everyone else gets that…

TWC

“no one but you is acting like this was the main reason they hired him.”

No fracking kidding.

Kelley is taking a page out of BluBlud’s Guide To Bleacher Nation Commenting and running with it.

ssckelley

In my defense I was debating with roz until U2 jumped in.

TWC

Ah, the old “I’m having a public debate with someone in private” excuse. Gotcha.

DocPeterWimsey

I’m picturing Bono leaning backwards in the classic “PASSIONATE POWER BELLOW” pose while the Edge stoops for that classic “I’m reaching deep for this chord” pose……

ssckelley

Yeah dammit, some privacy plz!

ssckelley

Great, then stop arguing with me.

Hansman

Damnit, you need to stop arguing first!

MichiganGoat

Who is focusing on his being bilingual as the number one reason?

mjhurdle

apparently, all of us.

ssckelley

Diamondrock, roz, and even WGN.

TWC

Nope. Diamondrock said it was “important”. You disagree. Swell. But he never said it was the most important reason. Neither did Roz.

You’ve really gone off the BluBlud deep end here.

ssckelley

How so?

D.G.Lang

It seems like YOU are the one who won’t let it go.

You remind me of someone I know very well who simply can’t resist saying something bad about everyone. This person looks for the slightest thing and keeps harping on it.

Anytime, anywhere, any chance to criticize, insult or character assassinate a person and they’re off.

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